During one fateful summer, Richie is forced to deal with his mom's deportation and prepare for his First Holy Communion as a Catholic while living with a caring adoptive family whose young son becomes Richie's closest friend and support.

"Summer Sacrament" is a coming-of-age story of two Catholic Hispanic boys in San Francisco's Mission District. After his mother's recent deportation to Mexico, 13-year-old Richie now lives with a loving adoptive family who have a 11-year-old son of their own, Joey. Richie is also preparing to receive his First Holy Communion in the Catholic church -- only because his mother desperately wants him to receive the sacrament even in her absence. Richie strikes a friendship with the young priest teaching his Communion class and with the help of Joey, his adoptive family and the priest, he starts to find normalcy within this difficult time of his life. But his feelings of isolation and abandonment and his growing distance from his mother are still very much active even if they are in the background. It is during this summer that Richie will start taking his first steps to becoming a man.—Lionel D Desai